Sam Shepard dies aged 73

  • 01/08/2017
Sam Shepard dies
Sam Shepard Photo credit: Getty

Sam Shepard, esteemed playwright and actor, has died aged 73.

The Pulitzer Prize winner and Oscar nominee's death came after he experienced complications from motor neurone disease, also known as ALS.

Shepard's credits include Black Hawk Down, The Right Stuff and The Pelican Brief, but also films and TV shows released over the last few years including Midnight Special, Bloodline and Never Here.

He wrote more than 40 plays and won the Pulitzer Prize for drama for Buried Child in 1979.

A spokesperson said he died at his home in Kentucky, USA, on Thursday (local time), adding that his family is requesting privacy.

Tributes to Shepard are being made on Twitter from the likes of Taika Waititi, Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Wild star Reese Witherspoon, filmmaker Ava DuVernay, Magic Mike XXL star Joe Manganiello and Austin Powers star Rob Lowe.

Newshub.